Faithful (22 page)

“Shit, you’re blowing me off tonight?” His nostrils flare as he glares at me.

“No, I’m cooling us off.”

“It’s not working,” he says as he puts my hand on the very hard bulge in his jeans.

I take a deep breath because, honestly, I’d like nothing better than to spend the night in his bed, rolling around naked as he pleasures me in every way possible.

“Cooper, I’ve done this before, where I latch on to someone and we move like the speed of light and end just as quickly,” I explain to the hulking man before me who is many women’s fantasy come to life. Maybe I’m a moron, but I actually believe there’s something to taking our intensity down a notch. “If this goes caput and someone gets hurt—likely me—then it would be a very uncomfortable situation for us and our friends. I want to prevent that from happening.”

“First of all, you can’t necessarily prevent that. People break up after one year, ten years—they get divorced all the time. Second, this is about me; you still have some doubts about me. I’m not about to hurt you, though.” His tone is stern, and he sounds offended.

“It’s like we’ve unleashed the Kraken. From now on, every time we’re together, it’s going to be about sex.”

Cooper shakes his head. “No. I like being with you even when we’re not naked.”

“Me, too. I think we should spend more time getting to know one another before we decide to spend every waking moment screwing. I like them both, but they are not the same thing.”

He nods and his expression softens. “I understand. It’s normal to have some concerns about me or us since this is new.” As he leans against the porch railing, his phone buzzes.

He takes it out of his pocket to inspect the incoming number. “Do you mind if I take this?” His tone is somber.

“Not at all.”

“It’s me,” he says into the phone with his head down.

There is a minute of silence as he listens to the caller, his expression stone cold.

“I understand. Bye.” He puts his phone back in his jeans pocket and looks out into the evening sky.

“Is everything all right?” I ask as his attention drifts off into something distant.

He turns back to me and lets a sigh of relief escape as he studies my face for a moment. “It’s nothing. Just my sister with her usual complaints.”

There’s an awkward silence because I don’t know how to respond. I don’t know his sister or the issues between them. “Anything you want to talk about?”

“No, it’s not important. I need to go home and shower, and you need some rest.” He smiles, but it seems contrived for my benefit.

“Good,” I say softly. “So we’ll both get a good night’s sleep.” When I stroke his cheek, he captures my hand and holds it to his face.

“Yes. I’m going to get some sleep. I’ll have to jerk off thinking about you, the X-rated version, but I’ll sleep.”

“Oh,” I say, blushing.

He takes my hand off his cheek and kisses it before letting it go. “I understand the fear, and I’m also confident that I’ll eventually be able to fuck that fear right out of you … Im-o-gene.”

Eighteen

Cooper arrives early, freshly showered and invigorated without a trace of his quiet distancing from the night before. I also notice that he’s wearing very nice jeans; clean, casual boots; and a trendy T-shirt he would not wear for painting or work. I’m guessing he’s planning to do something with me after we unload everything at the new studio building.

He greets me with a chaste kiss and a dazzling smile. I’m waiting for the birds and forest creatures to sing a cheery song for us, but there’s no time for that. Cooper is directing this operation. He has Leo, Dylan, and Carson load tables, boxes of jewelry supplies, display cases, and cabinetry into Carson’s and Leo’s trucks. Once everything is loaded, they head off while Lauren and I follow them in her car.

The building sits behind the Blackard Designs factory, next to the employee parking lot and the basketball half court that was installed recently so employees can burn off steam during breaks and after work.

When Lauren sees that the building has received a new paint job as well as the large Imogene & Lauren sign crafted out of metal and wood affixed above the front door, she slams the car into park and jumps out. She flails her arms in excitement and runs towards the door.

“I love it! I love it!” She jumps up and down.

“You’ve made someone very happy,” I say to Cooper as he gets out of Leo’s truck.

“What do you think?” he asks, gauging my response as I take in the small building that has been given a shiny, new facelift. The gray exterior has been transformed with a light blue paint job, something clean and bright that offsets it from the rustic, dark contemporary look of the furniture company that dwarfs it.

“It’s amazing. I don’t even recognize it. The windows look new and all the weeds and broken concrete are gone.”

“We power washed everything and had all the debris out front hauled away. Wait until you see the inside.”

Lauren is trying to hug and kiss Leo as he and Carson carry in the large craft table from the truck to the building. Cooper and I follow with more boxes, and when I step inside our new studio, my mouth drops open and I let out a breathy
wow
.

It’s immaculate and smells like fresh paint and sawdust. They did more than clear a space; they installed cabinets below all the windows around three walls and hung high intensity pendant lighting over additional worktables they custom built. The dingy concrete floor that was cracked and discolored has been repaired, stained, and polished. The interior is painted in an off-white color, giving a very bright effect along with all the natural sunlight pouring through the windows.

As Carson, Leo, and Dylan unload the trucks and open up all of the boxes on the three large tables in the middle of the room with Lauren instructing them this time, Cooper takes the box from me and places it down before taking my hand.

“Come see this.” He pulls me across the room to show me the half bath that has all new modern fixtures.

“All it needs is a bowl of potpourri on the toilet tank!” Lauren exclaims as she pops her head between us.

Cooper laughs and then shows me the only other room with a door. Fortunately, Leo calls Lauren away, leaving me alone with Cooper.

“We built a windowless office in this corner so you can keep a computer here and the vault that Carson put under the desk,” Cooper says, pointing to the small safe.

“I don’t know what to say.” I shake my head in disbelief. “I thought you guys were just going to clean out the furniture Carson was storing here and maybe you’d sweep the floor. This is a complete renovation, and you made us furniture and installed new lighting.”

“We wanted to do it right.” He gives my hand a squeeze.

Carson has always been a generous friend; however, I have to wonder how much of this extra work was initiated by Cooper. How do I begin to thank him for once again stepping up to help me? If I was younger, I would immediately assume his grand gesture is a sign he’s trying to win me over, although then I remember this isn’t only about me. There’s a lifelong bond between Lauren, Carson, Dylan, and myself, and Leo will do anything for Lauren. Cooper has joined a circle of men who are my constant reminders that not all men are selfish jerks, those men whose kindness and affections wane considerably once the relationship clock starts ticking.

With the others unpacking boxes in the main room, I have Cooper to myself; therefore, I seize this moment to brave the question I would normally avoid.

“Did you do this for me?” I study his steely gray eyes for any fight-or-flight response.

He steps closer and circles his hands around my waist. I slide my hands up his strong arms, enjoying the contact and the reaction from my brain, command central, sending out flares to awaken every single enthusiastic nerve.

“Carson offered us the use of this little building, and he mentioned some basic repairs and clean up,” I say, “but this is much more than that. Those are brand new built-in cabinets out there and custom worktables. You put in a lot of work here in a very short time, and these are not things Leo would ever think of on his own, so I have to wonder if you came up with this.”

“I may have made some suggestions.” As he leans down to kiss my cheek, I can’t take my eyes off his unflinching gaze.

“Suggestions?” I ask. “This cost money and time. It must have cut into the guys’ workload at the factory.”

“I was very persuasive. I may have strongly suggested we do things a certain way. After seeing your set up at the house and how you and Lauren work, I thought I could make some improvements in this space to make your job easier.”

“So this was your idea? I know you’ve been friends with Lauren long before I would even serve you a meal… that I hadn’t eaten off of”—this makes him grin—“but did you go above and beyond because of me?”

“You were definitely my motivation, yes.”

“Gosh, if we’re comparing notes on who is more awesome, you’re hitting it out of the park. I can’t keep up with your gifts. All I did was make you a stupid egg sandwich.”

“It’s not a competition.” He strokes my cheek.

“I have to be honest,” I say hesitantly, “if you keep doing things like this, I’m going to think you’re my quasi-boyfriend and not just my date for the wedding.”

“Oh, good. I’ve been promoted from date to quasi. Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m aiming for, a homely hunchback,” he deadpans.

Once I give him a nice hard nudge in the groin with my knee, he bowls over, laughing and embracing me harder.

“If you keep doing that, I’ll be your quasi-invalid, and I won’t be able to deliver.”

“Let’s get something straight, Cooper. I’m serious, if we’re—”

He interrupts my speech with a kiss, parting my lips until his tongue takes full control of my mouth. Holy heck, my knees just want to give away. I want him to have his way with me across our new, freshly stained pine desk!

When he releases my lips, I feel like I just got a hit of too much nitrous oxide at the dentist. Cooper should come with a warning label.

“I’m tired of you being serious, Imogene. Serious to you means doubting everything. Stop doubting me.” He’s gruff as he holds me against him.

“I’m trying.”

“Try harder. I haven’t done anything that should make you question my motives.”

“Maybe that’s what makes me nervous. You seem a little too perfect. No one is this perfect; everyone has faults, and mine are obvious.”

“We see what we want to see, so maybe you’re having so much fun with me that all you see is something that scares you. I’m not perfect, and I do have faults, like anyone else. We like each other a lot, so there’s no reason for us not to be together.”

“So help me, Cooper, if you end up dumping me like Jeremy did, I will shoot your kcuffing balls off.”

“Please don’t compare me to that dope, and please tell me you don’t own any firearms.” He smiles.

“I don’t, but I saw your gun cabinet in your bedroom closet.”

“It’s locked and indestructible, so don’t get any ideas that you can open it with a paper clip.”

“I give one warning. And I can do a lot of damage with a fork and a coffee pot. Believe me.”

“Oh, I believe you. Does that mean I’m your quasi-boyfriend?”

“We’ll start with quasi and work our way up from there.”

“Okay, I’m your quasi-something.” He scowls. “Let’s get this place set up and go have lunch.”

I suspect Cooper planned on having a quiet lunch alone with me, but after we finish unpacking boxes, filling the cabinets, and watching Lauren do a few happy dances around the new studio, everyone joins us for lunch. Since Cooper and I drove in with other people and had no vehicle of our own, Dylan made everyone head into the diner where Jess and Emma joined us.

I sit at a booth with the women while Cooper sits across the diner with the men. He glances my way occasionally, clearly anxious to escape our friends for a change.

“How long have you two been seeing each other?” Emma asks me.

I drag my gaze from the other side of the room and look at her, sitting across from me. “Almost every day for fourteen months, according to Cooper,” I reply tight-lipped.

Lauren snorts.

“How long have you been dating?” Emma clarifies while Jess and Lauren watch me intently.

“Officially dating? Three days.”

Lauren laughs. “Please, they’ve been spending oodles of time together since your wedding night, Emma. They’ve been shopping together, hiking together, having dinner at our house together, and they had a date.”

“How long have you been hot for him?” Jess’s tone is studious. I expect her to start dictating notes to herself on her phone, which is a funny habit we catch her doing frequently.

“I suppose for a few weeks. Maybe closer to a month.” My demeanor is cool to avoid getting carried away with flighty joy.

“Ha!” Lauren interjects. “More like six months or longer.”

“If you think you know so much, why don’t you answer their questions?”

“I will,” Lauren says inches from my ear. She turns to face Jess and Emma. “She actually likes him and has for a while. Imogene is having a little power struggle with herself.”

“I am?”

Lauren glares at me. “Yes, it’s obvious to everyone.”

“It’s not obvious to me,” Jess adds, looking confused.

“Nothing is obvious to you,” Emma responds, patting Jess’s hand. “You are one of the most clueless women I have ever met when it comes to men. With the exception of Carson, that is.”

Jess considers this for a moment, and then she and Emma both laugh. “And you are as tactful as your husband. Fine, I missed the signs between Cooper and Imogene.”

“Imogene pretended to miss the signs, too,” Lauren says with a mouthful of fries.

“Does this mean you and Cooper are officially a couple and Carson doesn’t have to bring an extra tent next week for the camping trip?” Jessica asks.

“That damn camping trip,” I mutter.

“You have to go. Leo says it will be the last big bonding moment for all of us.” Lauren reaches for my unfinished turkey sandwich. I assume she’ll regret it later when I have to hold her hair as she throws up …
again
.